Happiness is being with my girls!

 

Today at Ed and Debbies. Megs and me.

 

So, today I went to Ed and Debbie's for their annual Advancement Christmas Party. It was as wonderful as ever, and I enjoyed the company of some of my best friends. I honestly consider some of my co-workers to be some of my closest friends. We all sat and enjoyed wine, fine food, and great conversation. A lot of laughs, and a lot of special bonding time.

One of my favorite parts of the party is when we all gather in Ed's living room by the Christmas tree. His house is from the 1800's and it's so beautiful and full of history. We talked about the house a lot... Ed and Debbie are so passionate about their home. I love to see that. Taking pride in your home is so refreshing. They've done so much with it, and they are always so proud to share with us. Such fantastic hosts.

Tomorrow we'll be getting up really early and hitting the road for some Christmas shopping. We'll be going into Philadelphia, which is not our usual. There's a cool place to check out about 40 minutes from here. I hope it has lots of gifts for the kids. I have nothing accomplished, so my plan is to get a bulk of my shopping done tomorrow. Of course I'll be watching out for some great stocking stuffers, my favorite thing to shop for. I try to be as creative as I can be! Let's see what I can come up with!

Tomorrow night we have Meaghan and Ryans party. I plan on letting loose and really enjoying the evening. I spend about half of my life with Meg at work.. she's like a sister to me. I absolutely adore her. She's really excited about hosting this party, so I know it will be a good time. Plus, it's been awhile since we've been out, so we sure could use a nice party night. I think I should drink a lot of water tomorrow... hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Tonight we're taking it easy. The kids each have friends spending the night, so as always, the house is full of energy and noise! I am happy they have some great friends that love to be at the house. I am especially happy they are here so I don't have to worry about where they are and what they're doing. I worry a lot about them when they aren't home. Having teenagers is not an easy job! And I thought having small children was a little tough! That was nothing baby!

Probably not going to watch a movie tonight. I think we're going to get some rest so getting up at 6:00 a.m. isn't so painful! Maybe I'll sleep in on Sunday. Funny.. sleeping in for me is like 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. I'm getting better and better at doing early mornings on weekends. I have decided I don't want to sleep my life away...

However, when I'm off for that whole week between Christmas and New Years, I am having one day that I am going to declare Pajama day! Maybe a day when it's just me here. I'll sit and drink tea and watch girly movies with my snuggie and a few cats. LOL

That's about it for now. I am relaxing, watching American Pickers (History Channel). I am pretty beat, and I know Fred is too. He laid a little heavy on the beer last night and didn't get a great night's sleep. Tonight he's chilling pretty heavily.
:)

I got my new coat today. I love the way it fits but I'm not crazy about the weight and the quality. I hope it keeps me nice and warm. If not, I'll return it and back to the drawing board I go in search of the perfect long wool coat!

Today! Me and My Girls From Work!

Not the best night....

Tomorrow is a new day.

Love This

42 years later and the day has finally arrived.

I have been kissed under the mistletoe......

Thanks to my husband.

:o) xxxx (o:

Seems my bucket list is getting smaller each day.

It's cold.

Freezing cold.

Fred's out getting a beer and dropping off the couch to Freddy, Mara and the kids. I think we're going to watch a movie tonight. Clerks 2. I don't know if I ever saw all of Clerks 1, but since it was one of Fred's favorites, I ordered the second one for him on Netflix. I hope it's good. :)

Today was a busy, long day at work. I had a really tough time focusing on my work. I think I truly need the break that's coming soon. I want to be able to focus, but I am struggling. I guess it's time for a break.

I can't find my favorite sunglasses. I don't really need them much these days since by the time I come out of the office at 5:00 it's dark out, but I hope I can find them soon. lol. I'm writing about missing sunglasses. Pathetic.

The kids are excited about Christmas. I wish I could buy them everything they want, but, I can't. As they get older their lists become, well... insane. I can't imagine that they would really expect that we'd be able to buy them everything they want. I do believe they have not gotten a total grip on reality, and the concept of money. Now that Brandon is 16, he wants to get a part time job. It sounds like a good idea to me. He's expensive. :)
Speaking of Brandon, I'm supposed to take him for his learners permit this Saturday. Wow, seems like yesterday that I was getting mine. Time passes in the blink
of an eye.

Not a whole lot to say about today. I am definitely looking forward to the Holiday party at my bosses house this Friday. He hosts one for us every year and it's the nicest party ever. He and his wife work really hard to make it just like a family party, and one of my favorite things is when we all sit around the tree and play the gift exchange game. This will be the 3rd year he's having this party. I am excited. I am beginning to feel the Christmas spirit, ever so slightly.

This weekend is Meg and Ryan's party. It should be a great time. Somewhere in between these parties, and drivers permits, and recovery, I need to get my shopping done. I have only placed 2 orders.. one gift for Brooke, and one winter coat for me. I seriously need to get on the ball.

My favorite part of Christmas is stocking stuffers. I think I am the QUEEN of stocking stuffing. I wrap every single thing I put in the stockings. That is no easy task. Brandon and Brooke's stocking's are almost as tall as me. Last year it took several hours to wrap them. This year I'm going to wrap them as I buy them. They'll have to just hand over their stockings and deal with it. Leaving them under the tree isn't as important these days since they've already met Santa :)

Okay, so I just met a neighbor. From one crazy cat woman to another.. she was stopping over to ask if I had a bunch of Cats. (lol)... why yes, I have 4! I told her with a smile. She has 6! She was worried because my cats get out and I think she was scared that I don't care for them. Once she realized who she was talking to (I love my cats) she felt a lot better. I explained to her that I can't keep them in the house! She feeds them sometimes, which I'm fine with...no wonder they're getting so chubby... we're all feeding them! :) She was nice though.

oops... gotta go.

4 Happy Cats

Tonight we will have 4 happy cats. The poor babies have fleas! What a mess. So, yesterday they got a flea bath. They definitely didn't like that! I was upset, they were upset... and Fred was being tortured...
Tonight we got them Advantage. It starts to work in less than 5 minutes. YAY for happy cats. I hate to see them all itchy and scratchy. Damn fleas. I hate bugs. I hate ants too... YUCK! I hate spiders and bees... BUT, I bet the cats hate fleas the most!

Busy day at work. A few successful meetings though, so it was okay. Monday's are tough. I'm happy to have gotten through the day though. All is good.

Uggs make my beautiful tootsies warm. My feet were freezing all day in my work shoes. Coming home and putting my Uggs on makes it all better. For my feet.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

I'm old. I get excited about happy cats and warm, toasty feet....

I need to do something about this. lol

Monday's Thought Provoking Question

Best Concert I ever attended! Aaron Lewis - Staind

Cancun Mexican Restaurant is now open.....
We had lunch there and it was really good.

Brooke came home yesterday from what was supposed to be her weekend with her Dad. He is an asshole and has no clue what it's like to live with a 14 and 16 year old. He promised her that he'd take her to her Cheer party, and at the last minute he changed his mind and told her he was going to get his haircut instead. What a total and complete a-hole. So, of course she called me up and texted me telling me she does not want to go see him every other weekend anymore.... it's not easy.
Brandon is still there at his cousins, so I will grab him at 7 p.m. I know he spent no time with his Dad, which is fine with me but later in life, that dumb ass is going to regret it. No, not Brandon... (lol) his Dad.

I love Big Lots. I always enjoy going, and I always find something good when I'm there. Today we ran into Maryfaith and Frank. Adore them! It was nice to chat with them for a few minutes. Maryfaith and I don't see each other as often now that she's not working within my division. I really need to get together with her more often. We love spending time visiting and sharing fun stories....

I am trying to figure out when I can run to Long Island to see my Granny. I am trying to do a round trip in a day. I look forward to the ride. As long as I don't listen to my GPS, and I go the better way, it's a decent ride. I can still almost make the ride without the GPS.... I forget sometimes where to go, that sort of freaks me out. I hate losing my way to things that used to be so familiar to me. I used to be able to do that trip with my eye closed practically...... ***Sigh

I am taking a break from laundry. I always do laundry on Sunday..

That about sums it up for me today.

:(

Is it the weather or am I suddenly depressed?

I wish I had all the answers.

Rain Rain Go Away..... please.

A Sunday morning with lots of rain. I suppose I should be thankful. It's almost 60 degrees out and it's December 12th! It could be much worse. It could be snow. I hate snow. I don't even think it's pretty anymore. I hope and pray it doesn't snow this winter....

I don't need to visit Postsecret today.. I looked at it last night past midnight. I'm used to looking at it on Sunday morning. I feel like I should go re-read them this morning just because that's what I do.

My husband is making me breakfast. He's so good to me. He told me when we first met (a long long time ago) that he was for real because I questioned his sincerity. He would make me breakfast in bed, bring me coffee in bed....
I told him I knew that soon all of that would stop. People just don't behave that way long term. He assured me I was mistaken... and, I was. 12 years later and he still brings me coffee in bed, makes me beautiful breakfasts, and so on.....
I'm so grateful. I was one messed up cookie when he and I met. It's a miracle he hung in there and stuck with me through the first couple of years....

I just ran off track on my thoughts.. but hey, isn't this what journaling is about? Random splats of what's inside my head, my heart.. spilling out in text.


Ups and downs.... I wants to scrape the rust off, and get back to the me I adore.

Where do I start?

Today I remembered something about my childhood......

I don't think I would have ever remembered this, but I saw a photo, and it jolted a memory that was lost and buried...

I was a little girl. A very little girl...
I went to an Amusement park for small people and I drove an old Antique Car. I was with my Aunt and Uncle, and my brother was with me. I think it was a place called Story Book Land, in New Jersey. I can't wait to ask Rich tomorrow if he remembers it. I have lost so many of my memories from the past. I can see it very clearly right now.. that moment. I'm really excited! He remembers so much. I hope we can talk about it tomorrow!

Sentencing Day - Feb 4th, 2011

Okay... So I was having some mixed feelings about sentencing day coming up... and then I came across a few email exchanges and I stopped feeling bad about it.
Here's the thing. When someone goes out of their way to intentionally hurt you or your family, without a second thought...that's bad..

So, he's facing 190 years in prison, over 3 million in fines, AND all the nasty, dirty assets will be seized. Good. He deserve it. And, I hope he can read this one day from your prison cell.

For you....

Just read this portion of your email that I'd like to share with whomever views my blog:
"As for the threat of violence you made to me and my property I am not taking this lightly and have turned this e-mail over to the local authorities in case something happens to me or my family or property they will know where it is coming from as well as filing a restraint order."

Right... very good.
So, you know what I have to say to you.. sucker....
Enjoy those days and nights ahead of you. You made life hell for us, and I know you hurt other people in ways that are unforgivable. You deserve what ever sentence you get. And to think I was beginning to feel sorry for you. You never felt badly about what you did to us. You joked about it to people. You joked to us about the things you'd done... but we never knew just how fucking bad it was.

The stripper you humiliated at your big Birthday Bash.. I hope she remembers your name and looks you up on google someday. At least she would feel a little less humiliated, knowing you are paying for some of the crap you put people through...

And your partner in crime... his ways with women, his fabulous rape tactic, and leaving poor, innocent women out on the side of the road like they are nothing but garbage... I hope he gets his full 100 years that he's facing. I'll be sure to follow up on that one too. How funny will it be for him when he's being used up like a bitch in prison? Not so funny I'll bet. I wonder if he'll think of the women he did that to, when it's happening to him.

I hope it was worth it......

A-hole.

Maryfaith and Me. LOVE you Maryfaith!

Triumph Brewery

Christmas Shopping...

It's time.....

I have not done a bit of shopping yet, so today I am going to get out there with my hubby and try to get something accomplished!

Fireplace Fun

If you have a fireplace in the bedroom, it's important to open the vent hood when burning a log. :)
Okay, so the vent is open.

WTH?

LOL!

It's a little foggy in the house....
And, needless to say, we've evacuated the bedroom.

I hope the Fire Department doesn't show up.

Elements Of Asia Hibachi Style Christmas Party

Wine and Saki
Saki and Wine
Wine
Saki
Great friends and good foods
Party time
Gift giving and gift stealing
Wine and Saki
Saki and Wine

Fun and beautiful girls.....
Co-workers, my second family....

I love my girls.
I love my job...
I enjoy Holiday parties with them <3

Now I'm home....
More wine...
It's Friday and I'm happy for that

Hubby with a 40 (or two)
me with my wine.
Pinot..


T.V and relaxation.

Happy Friday!

The Movie of the Night...

Stay tuned for "Erin's Review"

lol

Seriously, Erin... what are you doing????

I haven't done a thing to get ready for Christmas. I know. I could be out there right now taking care of business, but I'm not. I'm curled up on the couch complaining about it. I hope to get all of my shopping done over the next 8 days.. as if I have much choice. It's almost Christmas!

I'm looking forward to that week off between Christmas and New Years. I'm also looking forward to seeing Jimm and Monica on New Years Eve in Baltimore. It will be the first year that we celebrate New Years Eve out of the house in many years. It's safe for us since we'll be staying at the hotel attached to the Party. I hope it's a nice time. Open bar only means something to me if I don't have to drive. And, I won't... so I'm excited about the NYE! And then, bring on 2011! The past two years have been so trying on so many people. It's been tough on us... I definitely welcome 2011 with an open mind, heart, and a better outlook.

Work week. Well, it's been a little hectic, then quiet... hectic, quiet.... It's been a strange week. Tomorrow is our party at Elements of Asia. It's going to be new, different and interesting. Hibachi style for over 30 of us. Should be interesting! I always love the games that we play with the gifts. It's a lot of fun. I usually end up with a crappy gift, after starting with a good one that someone steals from me. lol I don't care anymore. I used to get frustrated, but now I just don't mind at all.... it's all a silly game

Other than that, I look forward to the weekend. I'm looking forward to a night of fun with friends, and then a quiet night.... yeah!

Where the Wild Things Are

This is from one of the hottest days of summer 2010. I think I was partially dying of heat exhaustion. :) But, it was a fun weekend..... and my clothes are still on at this point.

 

Thank you Mr. President ....Rozanski...

So, President Rozanski hosted his annual Holiday party at Rider U. It was nice, as always. This year - no alcohol. I suppose that's a good thing. The last thing we need is an alcohol related accident after a holiday party at Rider. We've had some tragic losses due to the same thing, and to be an employee and drinking and driving would be the worst. I think he's made a very wise decision. It only takes one dumb ass to get out there and kill someone, or themselves....

It was nice though. I will be totally honest. I was in no mood at all to go. I felt like sitting at my desk and just getting some peace... BUT, I went. I socialized, and I had a nice time. I'm glad I went.

Now it's time to slip into something more comfortable and go to the store. And, this weekend I hope to get some Christmas shopping done.

Round two Hump Day photo!

I've been away from my blog and from posting my hump day pictures for so long that I've decided to do a double hump today!!! Beautiful!!! Enjoy.